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Megara
Megara, better known as Meg, is the tritagonist from Disney's 1997 animated feature film Hercules and a character in its 1998 television series. She is Hercules' love interest. She is voiced by Susan Egan. Personality Megara is a free-spirited, independent and quick-witted woman who is also slightly hurt due to having her heart broken by her boyfriend in the past. She is also cynical and world-weary, making her atypical among Disney's lead females. She plays enough of a heroic part in the movie to be classed as a heroine, rather than just a romantic interest. She has a very low opinion of men in general, since her experiences with them have been mostly negative. While Hercules falls for her at first sight, far from falling for him on the spot, she dismisses him as putting on an 'innocent farm-boy routine', and it is not until they spend actual time together that she begins to develop feelings for him. Meg is afraid of heights, but overcomes her fear at the end of the film in order to save Hercules. In their first meeting in the episode Hercules and the Aetolian Amphora, Meg wants to forget all about her ex-boyfriend (later shown to be Prince Adonis) and shows very little remorse in using her sexual abilities to manipulate the young Hercules into helping her steal a jar of Lethe water. Her attire is almost identical in this episode except that her skirt is much shorter. At the end of the episode her memory is wiped, explaining how she and Hercules met 'for the first time' in the movie. Appearances ''Hercules In the film, Megara, who was madly in love, sold her soul to Hades in order to save her beloved boyfriend's life. But shortly afterwards he left her for some other woman, abandoning her and leaving her heartbroken and a prisoner of Hades. This leaves Megara feeling trapped and she vowed to never fall in love again. The man who left her is later revealed to be prince Adonis in the episode of the TV series Hercules the series. She is first introduced when she is being harassed by Nessus the centaur in a river, who shows perverse interest in her. However, Hercules steps in on her behalf and saves her by fighting Nessus, while she looks on in the midst of wringing water out of her hair. After Hercules has won, he tries to strike up conversation with her and she introduces herself before leaving. It is while she is departing that it is revealed she doesn't like working for Hades, and the reason she was with Nessus was to recruit him for Hades's army. She shows up again telling Hercules about two little boys (actually Pain and Panic) trapped under a boulder. When he goes to the rescue, she watches him take on and defeat the Hydra from Hades's lair, and is shown to be, for the first time, impressed by his determination. When Hercules goes on a winning streak against all of Hades's summoned monsters and becomes a famous hero, Hades resorts to deciding to use Megara as a pawn to find out Hercules's weakness. Although she refuses the job at first, Hades gets her to agree by promising her freedom if she succeeds or if not, her soul will be for Hades forever! Thus, she pays Hercules a visit and goes out with her. ".]] By the end of the day, Megara has clearly fallen for Hercules. However, when reminded of the plan to seduce him by Pain and Panic in their disguises, she attempts to do so, but her plan didn't work! After a conversation that almost leads to a kiss, Phil and Pegasus find them and interrupt it and drag Hercules home, though not before he gives her a flower. She then realizes her feelings for him and tries to deny it to herself. Hades then comes in, asking her for Hercules's weakness. She proudly declares he has none, and that she no longer wants to be part of his plans to destroy him because she loves him. Unfortunately, through their purely intense and close romance, Hades comes to realize that Meg ''is 'Hercules' weakness. Hades interrupts Hercules' training, talks and snaps his fingers, making Meg appear. Before she can finish trying to plead with Hercules not to fall for the trap, Hades snaps his fingers and she disappears, tied up and gagged by smoke, then reappears with another snap of Hades fingers. He uses Meg to try to get Hercules to give up his God-like superhuman strength for twenty-four hours in return for Meg's safety and wellbeing from any harm whatsoever. Meg shakes her head frantically, trying to convince Hercules not to make the deal, but he does not listen. When Hades sets Meg free, Hades forced her to watch Hercules getting humiliated! Deeply heartbroken and feelingly crushed, the now-severely weakened Hercules loses the will to fight the Cyclops that Hades unleashes upon him. Meg finds and unties Pegasus and battles her fear of heights to find Phil, persuading him to come back and help Hercules regain his self-confidence and bravery. After Hercules manages to defeat the Cyclops using his wits, Meg sees a pillar collapsing onto him and, in a moment of selflessness, leaps to push him out of the way. Unfortunately, this means she is crushed by the pillar instead, sustaining huge internal injuries, but not having a visible scratch on her. This breaks Hades' contract, meaning that Hercules regains his strength. When he asks her why she would do something so dangerous, she finally admits that she loves him, "People do crazy things...when they're in love". Touched by her equally strong and genuine romantic feelings for him, Hercules promises Meg that she be okay and leaves her in Phil's care while he goes to stop Hades from taking over Olympus. After saving Olympus, Hercules races back to be with Meg rather than chasing Hades, but arrives seconds after she has passed away from her injuries. He then travels to the Underworld and rescues her ghostly spirit/soul, which returns her to life (and makes him a True Hero). Meg and Hercules are then brought to enter Olympus on a cloud, where she, being mortal, cannot follow. However, Hercules realizes that he wants to be with Meg, and gives up his chance to be a god on Mount Olympus in order to live a complete mortal life on Earth with her. After choosing that path, Pegasus now has hugely warmed up to her; whereas in the beginning he did not like her at all. Meg goes on living a happy and joyous life with Hercules as his beloved wife. ''Hercules: The Series Due to the fact that the television series is set back before Hercules met Meg, she only appears in the series twice, first as a teenager and then as an adult. Her first appearance is in "Hercules and the Aetolian Amphora" in which she meets Hercules, offering a chance to prove himself as a hero. Having him retrieve her the amphora so she can use it to forget about Adonis who she had a blind date with that went badly. Who in the film is the man she wanted to protect but he ran off with another girl. They do retrieve it from Ares' sons, but Meg leaves Hercules to escape. She is immediately taken to the Underworld by Pain and Panic; Hercules, despite her betrayal, goes after her. During a fight for the amphora, Meg tells Hercules that she liked him from the start. They almost share a romantic kiss, but the amphora's water is dropped on them, causing them to forget how they met, and reinforcing the fact that Hercules and Meg never established any true romance until the film. Her second appearance is in "Hercules and the Yearbook", a clip show episode which shows she, now married to Hercules, finds his old yearbook and looks back on some of his school misadventures. At the end of the episode, Hermes grabbed hold of Meg's own yearbook and it was revealed that she was a cheerleader. House of Mouse Meg is a frequent guest at the House of Mouse, often appearing alongside Hercules. In the episode "Everybody Loves Mickey", Meg was seen commenting to Hercules on one of Mickey's cartoons by stating: "Did you see Mickey in that cartoon? Now that, is a hero." In the episode "Pete's Christmas Caper", Mortimer Mouse tries to get who he thought was Meg to kiss him under a mistletoe, but it instead turns out to be Clarabelle Cow in a Megara costume. Video Game Appearances Kingdom Hearts II First Visit Megara starts off on a mission to tell Hades to give Hercules a break from the monsters but is chased by dog-like heartless, to which Sora offers to do for her. In the meantime she tries to convince Hercules to stop fighting (to avoid him from getting hurt). But he tells her that he'll be fine, Meg only hopes Sora won't let her down. Later Meg is kidnapped by Hades and trapped in the Underdrome. Hercules sends Sora and company to rescue her only to walk into Hades's trap with Pete and the heartless. Then after the fight Hercules arrives and makes sure Meg's ok, then tells Sora that he'll meet them back at the Coliseum after he shows Pete what happens when you you mess with a hero. On the way out Meg tells Sora that she doesn't want to leave Hercules. And they go help while Pegasus gets Meg out of there. But back at the coliseum the Hydra trashed the place and Hercules can't fight because he feels he let everyone down. So Sora, Donald and Goofy fight the hydra and during the battle Meg and Phil offer useful things to throw at the hydra. After hydra's done Meg thanks Sora and friends for everything and promises to look after Hercules. Second Visit She and Hercules are at the underworld's entrance as Sora, Donald, Goofy arrive. Then Hades tells them about the openings of "The Ultimate Games" in the underdrome, and tells Hercules to be there unless he never wants to see Meg again. Meg watches sadly as Hercules fights Auron worrying about him. Then Sora, Donald and Goofy comes and Hades who is furious that Hercules didn't lose, dumps Meg in the pit of souls with Hercules diving after her. He comes out alive with Meg in his arms. Then she and Hercules thank Sora again and asks where they're heading next. When Sora tells them that the "love-birds" would do fine without them around, Herc and Meg act embarrassed. Then Meg sees in the sky constellations in the shape of Sora, Donald and Goofy proving that they are True Heroes. Printed media Kingdom Keepers ''"We wish to help you," Megara said in a silky voice. She looked directly at Jess's leg. She was possibly the most beautiful of all the characters the girls had ever encountered in person. "Telephus, son of Hercules, is here in spirit." Meg appears in book 6 of the series. She meets Amanda and Jess when they cross over into Disney's Hollywood Studios. She also has learned magic as she heals Jess's wound. Disney Princess Unlike Tinker Bell, Esmeralda and Jane Porter, who entered the franchise, most were removed, there was never evidence proving that Meg joined the franchise at some point. The consensus is more likely that she was a 'princess test, "as Alice, being present in some products: *Princess Collection 2. *''Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Once Upon a Dream''. *''Disney Princess Doll: Sparkling Megara''. *''Disney Princess Pins'' from DisneyShopping.com. It is not known whether there was intent to put Megara in the franchise. Disney's Hercules is generally looked upon by the Disney Company as a disappointment, so Megara never reached the popularity of the other Princesses of the early 90s, such as Ariel, Belle or Jasmine. Possible addition The disclosure to the D23 Expo 2013, Meg was cited as a "Disney Princess", and actress Susan Egan, who makes her voice in the film was confirmed to be at the event. It was also announced that there will be the presentation of previews for Disney products, which led to rumors that Meg could be entered in the franchise. Responding to a fan via email, the production of the D23 Expo 2013 said the matter could not be discussed at the event. On August 21, Meg was seen along with Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana, Belle and Merida in Walt Disney World, doing poses for photos. Disney Parks Meg appears as a walkaround character at the Disney parks, though she is semi-rare. She was also a playable character in the now-removed Hercules in the Underworld attraction/game at DisneyQuest. In Fantasmic!, Meg appeared in the Walt Disney World version of the show onboard the Steamboat Willie riverboat, but has since disappeared from the show. As far as meet-and-greet goes, Meg is an extreme rarity. She appears mostly at Walt Disney World, as she is currently reserved mainly for special events at the resort. Notably appearing with Hades, Pain and Panic at Magic Kingdom for the resort's Rock Your Disney Side 24 Hour Event. She has also been known to make "random" appearances at Epcot, however this is know increasingly rare. Meg makes very few appearances at Disneyland in California, having only met guests for Long-Lost Friends Week, and performing no sets since. She's also made a few appearances at Disneyland Paris. At times for special events, and others on a random basis during the winter season. Notably, Meg appeared with Hades, Pain, Panic and other Disney Villains during the "Unleash the Villains", re-named "Villains Unleashed". event at Walt Disney World in 2013 and 2014 as Hades' co-host. Songs Songs performed by Megara: *I Won't Say (I'm in Love) *I Can't Believe My Heart (Deleted) *The Man That I Love (TV series only) Differences from the source material While there are many similarities between Megara in the source material and Megara the Disney there are also many differences: *In Greek mythology, Megara was the oldest daughter of Creon, king of Thebes. *Megara was offered by her father to Hercules, because he defended Thebes. *She had two children, a boy and a girl, but was killed with both of them by Hercules in excess of madness caused by Hera. *In some sources it is said that Megara was also killed by Hercules, while for others it is said that she was given to Iolaus. *In some traditions, Hercules felt so guilty for the death of Megara that he ended up having to perform the twelve labors in repentance. Quotes Gallery Trivia *Megara's family relations differ very much between the movie and the original myths. Where some relatives are her step-in-laws (such as Hera) and some are half-siblings-in-law (Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus,Hermes, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, and in some versions, Nemesis) are her full siblings-in-law. *Megara's role could be considered a combination of both Megara and Deianira, Hercules's respective first and second wives, from the original myths; she has the name of the former, but her run-in. *While in the Disney version Amphytryon and Alcmene are her adopted father-in-law and adopted mother-in-law, in the original myths Alcmene was her mother-in-law and Amphytryon was her stepfather-in-law. *Meg is recognized for her unusually purple coloured eyes. Originally, they were intended to be blue, but were changed to purple as film production progressed. *Meg is the third Disney female character to posses violet or purple eyes, first was Aurora and second was Vanessa (Ursula's alter-ego). *Susan Egan, the actress who voiced Meg is also famous for her portrayal of Belle in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast. *Meg is known for her unique appearance, which differs from the "traditional" Disney style of animation. She has thick hair, a very slender waist, lengthy eyebrows, and a more angular stature. *At the end of Hercules' end credits, a thank you to the entire team is slotted in, which includes one of Meg's signature lines, "It's been a real slice". *Meg is one of the few Disney heroines to not change her outfit once during her film. However, her dress is once accompanied by a transparent, lavender shawl which she drapes over her shoulders. *Meg is the only Disney heroine to have sold her soul. With Ariel, it was her voice that was sold. *Though not a princess, Megara is the first heroine since Belle to have the same voice actress do her speaking and singing voice. *Meg is also the only Disney heroine to really belong to the bad side (or rather, to be caught between two opposite camps after her feelings for Hercules), because of her agreement with Hades. All other Disney heroines were still in the good side. Two cases are particular: Tinker Bell and Ariel. The first'' didn't hesitate to "help" Captain Hook by simplicity, revealing him where Peter Pan and his friends were hidden and because of her jealously toward Wendy. But Tinker Bell was aware of Hook's nasty personality when she confessed these information. Ariel from ''The Little Mermaid executed an agreement with the antagonist Ursula, but it can't be considered as a partnership, since Ariel was too much naive to be aware of Ursula's machiavellianism, she made it for Prince Eric's love and she didn't know her revenge plans. In Tinker Bell and Ariel's negotiations, their respective antagonist finally betray them (Tinker Bell by being locked by Hook and Ariel by Ursula's manipulations), which isn't Megara's case, where the main protagonist is ironically betrayed besides (as soon as Phil learns the truth about Meg's filiation with Hades and he warns Hercules in vain, and when this last one discovers too lately this collaboration), but not the villain. *She is also the first female heroine that has had a boyfriend beforehand. Due to being cheated on, and then left, she doesn't want to fall in love. *Though Megara is not an official Disney Princess, she is somewhat of a "guest" Disney princess; as she is featured in in the "Princess Collection 2" CD and is also featured Disney Princess Sing Along Songs - Once Upon a Dream, with her song I Won't Say (I'm in Love). *Although she is an unofficial Disney Princess, Megara actually was a princess in Greek Mythology and is also a princess by marriage since she married Hercules in the TV series. *Meg, along with Jane Porter, are notable for even though they are the love interests of the titular character of their respective movies (Hercules and Tarzan) neither appears until about thirty minutes into the film. *Meg's last full speaking line in Hercules is, "Congratulations Wonder Boy, you'll make one heck of a god." The last word she says in Hercules is "Look" during A Star Is Born. *Megara is the first heroic Disney female to ever wear eyeshadow (Mulan was briefly seen wearing eyeshadow in the beginning of the film and if one counts Daisy Duck she too wears eyeshadow). Elsa the Snow Queen is the third Disney heroine to wear eyeshadow. Usually, eyeshadow is restricted only to female villains (as with some males such as Jafar). *Megara, along with Jane Porter and Kida, are the only three Disney females that do not have any sidekicks. *Megara is somewhat similar to Madellaine from The Hunchback of Notre Dame II. They both fall in love with the hero (Megara with Hercules; Madellaine with Quasimodo) while being used for the antagonist (Megara for Hades; Madellaine for Sarousch). *Though not a princess, Megara is the first heroine since Belle to have the same actress do her speaking and singing voice. Coincidentally, Susan Egan, Meg's voice actress, was the original Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway which was what lead her to being cast as Meg in Hercules. *She is the first Disney heroine to actually die and come back to life, the second being Anna. Snow White, Aurora and Giselle don't count since their curses only made them fall asleep. *She is the first Disney leading lady to have her hair up for the duration of the film. *Megara is the fifth Disney Heroine to save the life of her love interest, she was preceded by Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas and Esmeralda. She was then followed by Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel. *For an unknown reason, on the cover of the VHS Cassette bow for Hercules, Megara has a magenta dress (instead of lavender) and dark brown hair (as opposed to auburn). *Megara was supposed to appear in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days but was removed for due to space restrictions. 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